SEIFSA congratulates the Cape Engineers & Founders Association (CEFA) on its centenary anniversary. The history of SEIFSA is closely intertwined with that of CEFA. One of the pioneers of the Steel and Engineering industry, Harry Gearing, who served as the first chairman of CEFA when it was founded in 1920, was a key player in the formation of SEIFSA, becoming its first president when the Federation was formed in 1943. The formation of SEIFSA brought together most of the steel and engineering industry and strengthened the ability to negotiate collective bargaining agreements at a national level as CEFA focused on the regional level as the recognised Association of the Metals and Engineering (M&E) industry in theWestern Cape.
With the advent of democracy and the new political dispensation, labour law was re-written with the formation of the
Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. This also converted industrial councils to what is now known as bargaining councils. Today the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) is the largest bargaining council in South Africa. SEIFSA is, therefore, proud of its partnership with CEFA that has seen the two organisations work tirelessly to ensure a sustainable M&E industry.